Shelving can take many forms, including free-standing shelving, built-in shelving, cabinet shelving, etc. A floating shelf is a special type of shelf that typically comprises a shelf and an internal bracket system including brackets or an assembly of brackets supporting the shelf. The bracket system is generally attached to a wall and hidden within the shelf. Floating shelves are named for the shelf appearing to float against the wall without support.
When installing a floating shelf on a wall reinforced by studs, the bracket system can be anchored to the studs to ensure the shelf has sufficient weight bearing capacity. However, studs can be positioned in portions of a wall that are undesirable for mounting the bracket system. Therefore, an installer must decide between anchoring the bracket system to studs or some other aesthetically desirable location without stud reinforcement. Also, the spacing between studs may differ from the spacing between fastening points of a bracket assembly, preventing multiple fastening points of the system from being anchored to separate studs. This type of installation can promote failure of the shelf, especially under heavy loads.
In some floating shelves, a fastener passes through an external surface of the shelf and contacts the bracket system to prevent movement of the shelf relative to the bracket. The fastener can be hidden on the bottom surface of the shelf but may remain undesirably visible from below. Also, if one of the major surfaces of a shelf becomes damaged or blemished, it may be impossible to flip the shelf to hide such a defect from view, due to the required positioning of the fastener relative to the bracket system. It may also be undesirable to flip a shelf and expose the head of the fastener from above. The fastener also poses difficulty when removing a shelf from a bracket system because the fastener must first be removed or loosened. Also, a fastener can undesirably loosen over time and pose a risk that the shelf is not securely fastened to a wall. While a bracket of a floating shelf can be glued within the shelf, this configuration poses problems of difficult removal of the shelf.